Daughter Reveals Heartbreaking Reason Her Dad Has Worn Same Shirt For 20 Years

By: Alexander Burns | September 13, 2017

Ria, a 24-year-old woman from Japan, has shared the heartbreaking story behind her father’s obsession with a green and gold polo shirt. In an emotional tweet, Ria described how her father had worn the old shirt at least once a week for the last 20 years. Ever since she was a young girl, Ria had always been puzzled by her father’s obsession with the shirt. “Even if there was a hole he would sew it by hand himself. He wears it for any special occasion, be it a work study event or a trip out with the family,” she added.

However, the true meaning of the old polo shirt was finally revealed to Ria when she was looking through her grandfather’s belongings after he passed away. While Ria searched through a box of her relative’s belongings, she came across a sheaf of old photographs. One of the photographs showed Ria’s father and mother – who had passed away 18 years ago – smiling for the camera while enjoying their honeymoon.

As Ria took a closer look at the photo, she noticed that her father’s shirt bore a striking resemblance to his favorite green and gold polo. Suddenly, the pieces fell into place and Ria realized that her father had been wearing the same shirt for two decades because it reminded him of the woman he had loved most in the world.

Ria was incredibly moved by her father’s love and she couldn’t help sharing the lovely moment on Twitter. To illustrate her father’s devotion, Ria uploaded the original photo of her mother and father alongside a recent picture of the man still wearing the well-maintained shirt. Unsurprisingly, the tweet quickly went viral and thousands of Twitter users have liked, retweeted and commented on the post. Many users shared similar stories of familial devotion and admitted that the post had moved them to tears.

The response from online commenters has been equally emotional. In particular, one Dailymail user, coliecole, was moved enough to share her own tragic story, writing: “So Sad. My husband was killed in an accident, and time will never heal the pain I feel over his loss. I feel like I can not go on many, many days. So, I sympathize with her Father, and why he held those clothes so dearly to his heart. God bless his soul. I hope he is finally with his sweet, lovely wife at last.”

Ria is still stunned by the immense reaction to her heartbreaking story, joking: “I am surprised by everyone's reaction as my first tweet was about a disgusting father who continues to wear the same clothes forever.”

In an interview with Buzzfeed News, Ria spoke further about her father’s shirt, saying: “I wondered why he kept on wearing that old polo shirt. Why didn't he just buy a new one? I never imagined that the polo shirt would contain such a special memory for him.” In a series of subsequent tweets, Ria also revealed that her father had never remarried or sought new partners, preferring to concentrate on parenting Ria and her baby brother.